Conservatory in Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens has over one thousand acres of gardens, meadows, fountains and conservatories and is located in Kennett Square, PA just outside Philadelphia. Originally purchased by William Penn in the 1700s it was ultimately purchased by the successful industrialist Pierre du Pont, the founder of DuPont Chemicals and Manager of General Motors, in 1906. Today it is one of the top botanical gardens in the nation.
I was able to go wandering around the estate with my sister, Janice, last weekend while they were hosting a Chrysanthemum Festival. The massive collection of plants on display is overwhelming and charming. There are over 20 gardens including children’s gardens, tree houses and model train exhibits on the property that bring delight and reflections of a simpler time to mind. They are famous for mushrooms in the area too, so we had their famous homemade mushroom soup in the café.